Zutara Week
by Wohitzi
Summary: Seven days, seven words, seven drabbles. My entries for Zutara week.
1. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

"So, remind me again why you're trying to make pants out of that potentially unwearable denim-crap?"

Katara immediately became defensive, just as the earthbender had expected her to. "I-it's perfectly wearable! I saw some girls wearing it when I was in town and thought it looked nice, so I bought some."

"_Right_," Toph said, smirking slightly. "And it has nothing to with the fact that you want to catch Zuko's eye?"

The waterbender's heart pounded, sending blood rushing to her face. "What? No!" she cried, voice rising to an unnaturally high squeak.

Toph's smirk grew, smug and teasing. "_Liar."_

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Author's Notes: _Yes, I am aware that this is incredible late. But, well, I didn't join the contest offically, so it's okay. I guess. Dx I'm gonna try coming up with something for each prompt, but I make no promises. _

_Also, Katara is the worst liar in the history of liars. xD_

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters. **


	2. Shot Through The Heart

Blue fire narrowly missed Katara's head, followed closely by a barrage of knives. She ducked and pivoted and created hasty shields of water, finding it nearly impossible to decipher friends from enemies.

A fire blast was deflected just as it was about to hit her. Turning, she saw Zuko fighting against his sister and wondered when had he gotten there and why was he helping them?

She heard the crackle of lightning, saw Azula make the telltale motions, and watched in horror as a bolt of electricity shot toward the prince, who remained rooted to the spot.

Much to her amazement, he reached out, letting the lightning strike his fingertips. For a moment, he _controlled_ it, guiding it harmlessly through his body.

Ty Lee jumped in behind him while this was happening and delivered a chi-blocking jab to his back. The instant she hit him, Zuko let out a cry of pain, lightning shooting from his chest as his body arced in a way similar to how Aang's had down in Ba Sing Se.

Then he collapsed, motionless.

Ty Lee stumbled back, seeming to have received a small shock as well. Otherwise, she looked unharmed.

Staring in horror, Katara wondered if she should help him. Her bitter hatred thought she should leave him, let him rot for all the pain he had caused.

'_No!" _her conscience said. '_Doing that would make me even worse than him.'_

"You can start helping anytime, Sugar Queen," Toph growled as she blocked another wave of fire.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Katara hesitated before asking, "Could you make an earth-tent around him?" She pointed to Zuko's unmoving form.

She did as the waterbender asked, but not without making a comment about sleeping with the enemy. Shooting her a glare, Katara ducked into the shelter and quickly began assessing the prince's injuries. In the dim light that filtered in through the small opening at the top of the tent, she could see the angry red, star-shaped marking on his chest. Carefully pressing her fingers to his throat, she felt for a pulse.

There was none.

Swallowing nervously, she realized there was only one thing she could do. Back home, in the South Pole, she and Sokka and everyone else had learned how to resuscitate someone after they had drowned. 'Mouth-to-mouth' they called it.

"I am _not_ giving you mouth-to-mouth," she muttered, feeling cheeks burn and knowing the statement was a lie. Who else could do? Everyone was too busy fighting.

Gently tilting his head back and forcing his mouth open, she took a deep breath, silently praying for a miracle that would save her from doing this.

Her prayer went unanswered, however, and soon she was pinching Zuko's nostrils shut, pressing her mouth over his and breathing into it just like her Gran-Gran had taught her to.

Despite the volume of the battle raging around her, Katara could hear Toph snickering and dreaded the inevitable teasing that would result from the whole ordeal.

'_I can't believe I'm _kissing _Zuko,'_ she thought, only to quickly correct herself. '_No, this is a life-saving procedure, _not_ a kiss.'_

Pulling away, she cupped her hands against his chest and pushed a few times. Bending down to press her mouth to his a second time, something nagged at the back of her mind. She was forgetting a step...

Then she felt Zuko's lips moving against hers in response to the not-a-kiss and jumped back with a squeak of surprise.

Damn it, she forgot to check for a pulse!

Obviously still dazed and light-headed, Zuko grinned up at her. "You're not a very good kisser."

With a blush and a growl of frustration, Katara scrambled out of the earth-tent, trying to ignore Toph's laughter and vowing to slaughter Azula as soon as she found her.

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Author's Notes: _Yes, I am fully aware that CPR doesn't work that quickly. I just thought it would be kinda annoying to rewrite the same thing, like, five times. xP Also, I was thinking of Bon Jovi when I titled this for some reason, so, yeah. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters. **


	3. Don't Get Too Confident

A blast of water slammed hard into Zuko's chest, knocking him to the ground. Katara gave him no chance to stand, attacking with another well-aimed surge of water.

He rolled the side, barely avoiding the strike, then leapt to his feet and began lobbing fistfuls of fire at her in quick succession. With a twist of her wrist, she raised a wall of water, smothering the flames and causing the air to fill with steam and smoke.

Using the poor visibility to his advantage, the former prince darted around her, grabbing her wrists and pulling them behind her back. She struggled against his grasp, but it was too strong.

"Look like a win this time," he whispered, breath hot on her ear. A smug smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't get too confident," Katara said, wearing a smirk of her own.

She twisted her body at an odd angle, ignoring the discomfort as she tilted her head up and pressed her lips firmly against his. Caught off guard, his grip loosened, giving her the opportunity to break free and give him a hard smack with her waterwhip.

Lying on the ground, soaking wet and grinning from ear-to-ear, Zuko seemed unusually pleased by his defeat.

* * *

Author's Notes: _I really need to practice writing fight scenes. Dx_

**Disclaimer: 'Avatar' and all its characters are property of Mike and Bryan. **


	4. Careful What You Wish For

Sitting in a chair, ankles cuffed to its legs and hands tied behind her back, Katara sent Azula a glare that would've made anyone else cower in fear.

The princess just smirked.

"You seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage," she mused, moving around Katara in a very predatory manner; the cat to her cornered mouse.

"And you're a psycho-bitch," the waterbender quipped. "Care to point out any more obvious facts?"

Unfazed, Azula continued. "Perhaps we could work out an agreement – information in exchange for your freedom?"

She narrowed her eyes, voice low and untrusting as she said, "Depends what you want to know."

"Just tell me where you last saw Zuko and I'll 'accidentally' give you the key."

Grinning widely, Katara said, "Oh, is that all?" She pretended to search her memory. "I believe it was last night, when he was on top of me panting in my ear as he tried to figure out how to unwrap Water Tribe breast-bindings."

It took a moment for the statement to sink in. When it did, Azula was left staring in wide-eyed disbelief.

She had gotten exactly what she demanded, but not at all what she wanted.

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Author's Notes: _Hehe. Um. Not much to say about this. I thought it up at, like, midnight, so it's probably not the best. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters. **


	5. History Repeats

**Slight spoilers for 312**

* * *

Katara paused in her walk down the corridor (she had been headed to the kitchen to start dinner), seeing Zuko sitting at a desk through his opened door. He was reading an old looking book, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"What are you reading?" Katara asked.

Gaze snapping up toward her, he looked a bit confused and surprised (he had good reason to, after the way she had been treating him). Then, smile returning, he said, "It's an old mythology book my uncle quoted all the time. He gave it to me a few years ago, but I never actually read it 'til now." Eyes flicking back to the yellowing pages, he continued, "I was just reading this story about a girl who almost lost the man she loved because she was too resentful and couldn't let go of his mistakes. He ends up getting struck down by the Gods, who're punishing him for his sins, and they only let him live because the girl-"

Abruptly, he stopped, blushing and shifting his gaze back to her as he realized he had been babbling. "Uh, sorry. I got carried away. You don't have to waste your time listening to me."

Katara crossed her arms. "Tell me the ending."

"Wha-?"

"You can't tell me the whole story then skip the ending," she said, tone implying it was obvious.

"Oh, right. Well, um the man she loves is only revived because she sacrifices another prized attachment in his place.

Katara nodded, letting it sink in. Something about the story chilled her (it was far too familiar), but she shrugged away the feeling, turning on her heel and hurrying down the hall to the kitchen.

_Too resentful..._

_Punishment for his sins..._

_Sacrifices another prized attachment..._

The story refused to leave her mind.

* * *

Author's Notes: _I kinda had fun writing this one, though I worry I may have made Zuko a little OOC with his babbling. xP_

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters. **


	6. Stare

**Spoilers for 312**

* * *

His hands gripped her wrists, tight and unyielding. She tried to pull back, blue eyes wide and terrified, meeting his own fierce gaze of molten gold.

"_I'll save you from the pirates."_

XxXx

Her hand gripped a small container of sacred water, gentle and hopeful. He accepted her offer, silently closing his eyes to block out her caring gaze, focusing instead on the warm hand she pressed against his scar.

"_Maybe you could be free of it."_

XxXx

Her hands were clenched in fists at her side, angry and untrusting. He took a step back, golden eyes wide with fearful surprise, meeting her own threatening gaze of blue.

"_I'll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there. Permanently."_

* * *

Author's Notes: _Err, yeah. Basically just my interpretation of the three of the many scenes in which Zuko and Katara find themselves face-to-face. Plus, some of the epic Zutara lines. :3_

**Disclaimer: 'Avatar' and all its characters are property of Mike and Bryan.**


	7. Pinch

**Spoilers from the NYCC trailer**

* * *

In an instant, Katara was throwing her arms around Zuko's neck, pulling him into an unexpected (but welcome) embrace. She whispered apologies and he offered forgiveness, enjoying the close proximity and rare moment of peace.

He could never figure out what made him do it – maybe being so close made him lose his mind, maybe some part of his mind was delusional enough to think she would like, maybe he was just an idiot. Whatever the case, he ended up sliding his hand down, lower and lower, and giving her a quick, sharp pinch on the butt.

"Aah!"

His bravery was rewarded with a waterwhip to the face.

* * *

Author's Notes: _Yes, it's uber short and kinda crappy. It's actually the first thing I wrote for this week. Zuko's probably OO - but, then again, he _does_ have a tendency to do stupid things. xD_

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters. **


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